Water, Water Everywhere

Very rainy day today.

And on PBS, a thought provoking series, that introduced me to the concept of virtual water.

More to come.

Busting Out

First fresh food foray of a tried and true New Yorker after 42 days of COVID quarantine in the Spring of 2020.

42 days, and then finally, I saw the outside.  And these were some of the fruits of my labor...

... well, no fruits in that frame - but pizza!  A New York staple - it had to be had.  So intrinsic a part of our being.  In our family, our first loyalty to a pizza joint was to Alba’s back in the old hood.  Sooo good; even New Yorkers (the only folks qualified to judge pizza by the slice) who didn’t live in Briarwood thought so.

And, yes, Bark Thins.

Not pictured: The bags and bags and bags of fresh produce - oh the veggies!  How I’ve missed you, o vegetables!

The small, everyday, mundane things that we took for granted before from the outside, now festooned with renewed appreciation.

It was a confluence of factors that allowed for the jailbreak.  We - the fam and I- held out for much longer than others.  New York has allowed trips out for food.  But Sissy had insisted on provisioning to get us all over the first wave without leaving our respective abodes, and we stuck by that plan.  But i ran out of fresh veg and was down to eating pickles; the Orifice organized a virtual group event and gave us a food budget; and, most crucially, the Parentals insisted on going out and re-provisioning because their friends had already done it, and survived.  I am being careful for them - if they broke out, I figured I had license to do same.

Oh, the outside world!  Emptier, but otherwise much the same.  Surprisingly. 

Flyover - Overtones and Overtures

Flyovers by the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds used to be just fun.  But COVID-19 has complicated even these symbolic performances, moreso than just in their complex aerial maneuvers.  And that is sad - when joy is diminished, into that void comes other emotions, so that overall, the lingering sense is a bit of sorrow at the change from unadulterated wonder.

More to come.

Arbor Day 2020

In honor of Arbor Day yesterday, a tree census seemed to be in order.

Little Speck of Earth Day

A microcosm of Mother Earth to observe her day.

Tiny little snails nestling among the moss at the base of the mandevillas wintering inside.

Earth Day +1, 2020.  Seeds, sprouts, snails, ...

Unidentified seedling - maple? - taking root in an overwintering mandevilla container.

Attempting to root a mandevilla cutting...

...because left to their own devices, they just want to climb the strings of the window shades.

This mandevilla is actually rooting!

More cuttings in water.

Stray little snail.

All indoors on this Earth Day of COVID isolation.

[Edited to complete photos December 13, 2024.]

Comeback Kids

They've been keeping me in suspense - whether they would make it through Winter, but, finally, some encouraging signs...

Windblown maple - unfurling.

Hardy hibiscus - with the promise of leaves to come.

Hydrangea - little shoot from the middle.  There are mature branches that will be obstacles; waiting to see whether any of those will be late leafers, and if they are not, then they will be pruned to make way for our little shoot that could.

Hydrangea - the back sprouts that were hidden from view, leaving me to think all the action was up front, until I inspected more closely... they are like the mullet of this hydrangea (business in the front, party in the back).

Lilies of the valley, calmly doing their thing.

The hardy hibiscuses were such babies last Fall, and the maples had been weakened by that period of (my neglectful - gotta own it) underwatering, but they seem to have pulled through Winter.  Then there’s the old hydrangea - the lone survivor of the inherited ones - that every year seems on its last legs, with only one mature wood branch leafing - that puts out not just one new shoot, but two in the back as well!  And the lilies of the valley that barely made an appearance last year and died off quickly - they seem much more energetic this Spring.  Yay!

Especially needed in these times - hard evidence of survival.  Too many out there sick - we need them to hold on, they just have to summon up the strength and energy and hold on.  There are people who care, and people who care for those who care, who need them in their lives.

#hibiscus #hardyhibiscus #maple #hydrangea #liliesofthevalley #containergardening #rooftopgardeningnyc #rooftopgardensnyc #urbanterracejungle

My Neck of the Woods

A virtual architectural walking tour on my beloved river promenade, through my local park, with the Dean of the Yale School of Architecture and neighborhood resident, Deborah Berke....

... I know each of the spots in the photographs in the piece.  Truly, truly my surrogate backyard.  These were the features of Yorkville that clinched the deal for me, sold me on this apartment in this building - way back when, before the Q made it to Second Avenue - so, so far east and such a trek from the subway.

Having public green space, and such a lovely and well-designed one, at that, so close at hand was key to balancing it all.  I had started running, and was doing the loop around the Reservoir, which would be too far; but the promenade, and the river, and Carl Schurz Park were perfect - the boats, the dog runs, the paths and different elevations....

When my folks came to assess the situation, before I made an offer, though they liked the apartment, they thought the neighborhood was too far east, too quiet, not enough foot traffic, unsafe for my late night returns from the office.  Then I took them to the river and we watched boats, and to the little dog run and we watched puppies, and then came back as kids were returning from school and being greeted by the doorman, and by then they were swayed.  And the lack of soot on the windowsills (the Lexington Avenue sills were black, as were the blinds, even though we were eight stories up), they agreed that was a good thing.

I have told people since who were apartment hunting MY criteria: It doesn't need to be hip and happening; I can travel for outings and I don't want tourists running amok in my hood when I am trying to have a relaxing weekend.  I need to be able to get in short order a coffee and a quick something to eat on weekends, a newspaper if I want one, groceries that I don't have to lug too far, a dry cleaner somewhere nearish, it has to be safe, and green space.  Check-check, check, check, check.  Those are the things I need when I'm not working so I can unwind and take care of my life.

Just tickled that the Times picked my little corner of the world to cover.  And it is narrated beautifully, and captures the serenity perfectly.  Love, love, love.